San Francisco - The 1st Week

I did plenty! Can't put it all down but here's a quick recap:

Monday 2/7: Arrive. Took the Bart - it's a nice train, something like the LRT.

Tuesday 3/7: Petaluma Outlet shopping. Pretty typical huh? This place is kind of insanely far away from town (but I got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge!), not somewhere I'd suggest attempting on your first day especially when your mind is fighting jetlag. But the 4th of July sale was on, so what was I supposed to do?

Wednesday 4/7: Berkeley. Ziggy goes to graduate school here and was kind enough to take us. We did the Scharffen Berger chocolate tour factory, learnt about nibs and orange chocolate lipgloss. The 4th Street area and shops are really nice - all relaxed and sunshiney. And to round the night off - I got to see 4th of July fireworks from on top of a hill.

Thursday 5/7: Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach. Yes we did the tram - got to stand next to the gripman too, his name was Fish. Clam chowder? Not great. Ripley's Museum? Pretty good fun. North Beach? Nice. Hilly but Coit Tower and the pretty houses and cafes is worth the walk. Here's Janine trying to figure where we're headed outside the St. Peter & Paul church:


Friday 6/7: Googleplex. Yes - the very coveted, "wonder what it's like inside" workplace. Wonder what it's like? No one's dressed for work, dogs are allowed and there are 14 gourmet cafes serving free food. Abit surreal for me.

Stanford University. Wow this is a nice campus. Earthy tones and low-rise buildings. I really liked the church - mosaics and warm colours have always done it for me. They also have a very nice park of Rodin sculptures - check out The Three Shades, now does that man have an appreciation for the human body and muscle shapes or what?



Saturday 7/7: Napa Valley. I remember being very very happy at Mumm - that's a sparkling wine vineyard. And what lovely vineyards - we went to V. Sattui (lunch here - good bbq ribs and deli), Clos Pegase (schmancy man, schamancy), Mumm (classy yet simple) and Clos DuVal (quaint, and so pretty). And then, more outlet shopping - as it turns out there was a Napa Valley Outlet Mall (shrug).

Sunday 8/7: Some Golden Gate Park gardens. It was a pretty chilly day. I liked the Legion of Honor museum alot - there was a pipe organ performance going on when we got there, which made the whole experience terribly atmospheric. Afterwards, Richmond Chinatown for tong sui and grocery shopping. Janine and I cooked up a success that night, notwithstanding toothpaste, falling soba and scrambling crabs. We deserved a big pat on the back. Us and Amy Beh both.